A record number of women took home statuettes at last night’s Academy Awards. Though they were shut out of a number of categories — most notably, Best Director — women won 15 awards, marking an all-time high. The evening kicked off with “Wine Country” collaborators and “SNL” alumnae Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, and Maya Rudolph taking the stage to present Best Supporting Actress, and emphasizing that “all actresses are outstanding supporting actresses because women naturally support each other. ”
“If Beale Street Could Talk’s” Regina King won the honor. According to Entertainment Weekly, she’s one of three black actresses who have won at the Oscars and Emmys. Ultimately, three of the four acting awards went to people of color: King, “Green Book’s” Mahershala Ali, and “Bohemian Rhapsody’s” Rami Malek, marking the first time in history that people of color accounted for the majority of winners in the acting categories.
King was the first black woman to hear her name called out as a winner last night, but she wasn’t the last. This year’s ceremony was the first to award more than one black woman, NBC reports.
Ruth E. Carter made history when she won Marvel’s first Oscar and became the first black person to win Best Costume Design. She was recognized for her work on “Black Panther.” “Marvel may have created the first black superhero, but through costume design, we turned him into an African king,” she said in her acceptance speech.
“Black Panther’s” Hannah Beachler became the first black person to win for Best Production Design. Her emotional speech concluded with words of encouragement to emerging artists. “I give this strength to all of those who come next. To keep going and never give up, and when you think it’s impossible, just remember to say this piece of advice I got from a very wise woman: ‘I did my best, and my best is good enough,'” she recalled.
“Bao” director Domee Shi and producer Becky Neiman-Cobb became the first pair of women to win Best Animated Short. “To all of the nerdy girls out there who hide behind their sketchbooks, don’t be afraid to tell your stories to the world,” Shi urged.
While accepting the honor for Documentary Short Subject, “Period. End of Sentence” director Rayka Zehtabchi proclaimed, “I’m not crying because I’m on my period or anything. I can’t believe a film about menstruation just won an Oscar!” She emphasized that the doc’s characters are “empowering women all over the world to fight for menstrual equality.” “I share this with teachers and with students around the world,” added producer Melissa Berton. “A period should end a sentence, not a girl’s education.”
“Free Solo” won the prize for Best Documentary. Directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin thanked National Geographic for believing in them and “hiring women and people of color.”
When “A Star Is Born’s” “Shallow” was named Best Original Song, Lady Gaga emphasized the power of persistence. “If you have a dream, fight for it,” she urged. “There’s a discipline for passion — it’s not about how many times you are rejected or you fall down or you’re beaten up. It’s about how many times you stand up and are brave and you keep on going.”
Olivia Colman, winner of Best Actress for 18th century-set comedy “The Favourite,” gave a shoutout to little girls practicing their Oscar speeches in the mirror, and revealed that she spent a lot of time doing just that while working as a hotel cleaner.
Another highlight of the night came when Alfonso Cuarón won Best Director for “Roma” and used the opportunity to speak up about the power of representation. “I want to thank the Academy for recognizing a film about an indigenous woman, one of 70 million domestic workers without working rights, a role traditionally relegated to the background,” he said. “As artists, our job is to look where others don’t.”
“On Hollywood’s biggest night, domestic workers won big tonight!” said Ai-jen Poo, Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance. She attended the ceremony as one of Cuarón’s guests. “We are grateful to Alfonso Cuarón for this moving love letter to the unsung heroines of our childhoods and our families. ‘Roma’ is a true testament to making visible the women that are often in the shadows,” she emphasized. “With the incredible win for ‘Roma’ tonight for Best Director, Best Foreign Language Film, and Best Cinematography and thanks to the support of so many brilliant actors, influencers, and activists, tonight we celebrated domestic workers with the humanity and dignity they deserve.”
